Finally went to the darkside, I’m a long time Mazda rotary fanatic but recently bought this gem,

The opportunity was too good to resist as the condition of the car was simply amazing.

It’s a 1971 datsun 1600 wagon (510 in the US),

Should be suited for daily duties once this will finished.

The car had been owned by an old man since new, the guy I bought it off had it for some time and has done a few things to it, some things I approve some I don’t.

The car was a long way from where I live, but once I saw it I knew I had to have it, as cars like these aren’t advertised because they sell straight away.

Once bought I had to put it on the hoist to double check my instincts and to see if there was any unseen nasty issues.

All pretty clean under there, nice thick under body has been applied in the past,

Checks on arches and drainage holes, no rust, all fine and not blocked.

This is ridiculous! A datsun that the same age as my Mazda that has no rust issues?!

Anyway, at this point I have taken a bit of time off work and since this shell is virtually defect free, I have put the Mazda on the backburner and this should give me enough time to bowl over what I plan for this car, and this taking over daily car duties.

Car currently has an L20b engine in it mated to a 4 speed stumpy gearbox,Front end and rear has all new suspension,180b shocks, master cylinder, front brakes have been put in.

Issues:

-There are 3 small dents in the car, -The clear coat is fading and about to peel,- The previous owner made a mess of the R/h strut tower with brake fluid, the paint is gone. - Its metallic British racing green, sorry but on a E type jag maybe, But for me no thanks, don’t think its original colour anyway as it looks to have had a respray in the past, (Original colour was red)

Plans are to respray and panel all the body myself as I see this as a good base to learn some new techniques as I haven’t dwelled in that side of car restoration.

Awesome car! I love to see original interiors being kept / restored, especially here in Australia where the trend seems to be paint it hot pink , stick it on 20" wheels and replace all the interior with cream coloured pleather :shudder:

Personally I think they look a little funny without bumpers but each to their own. I do love the colour combo of the blue w/ red wheels